Lamp-jack for telephone-switchboards.



PATENTBD JAN. 16, 1906.

s. A. BEYLAND. LAMP JACK EOE TELEPHONE SWITOHBOARDS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25,1904.

UNITED s'rngns PATENT orsron.

SIDNEY A. BEYLAND, OF ELYRIA, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE DEAN ELECTRIC COMPANY, OF ELYRIA, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

LAMP-JACK FOR TELEPHQNE-SWITGHBOARDS.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SIDNEY A. BEYLAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elyria, in the county of Lorain and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lamp-Jacks for Telephone- Switchboards, of which the following is a s eciiication, reference being had therein to tile accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to switchboard apparatus for use in telephone-exchanges, and particularly to the signaling apparatus mounted thereon.

Specifically stated, it comprises im rovements in the.mountings and holders or in-; candescent lamps employed as signals, and

has forits object the improvement of such mountings and holders in various particulars that will be hereinafter pointed out.

In telephone-switchboards employing incandescent lamps as si nals sockets or holders have been provided permitting the convenient insertion and withdrawal of the lamps and for their support in position, so that the lighting of any one lamp would not result in illuminating the numbers or jewels of others. In most cases the sockets have been combined into extended strips, usually accommodating ten lamps each, each strip being provided with means to secure it in position in juxtaposition with a strip containing the line-jacks of the lines to-whose calls the lamps respond. Such strips ordinarily comprise two mainlongitudinal members and two transverse end members, the front longi-. tudinal member being drilled with holes to receive the transparent or translucent windows or jewels and to permit the lamps to be I passed into the jacks, while the rear member and are otherwise objectionable.

supports the contact-springs and, if the member itself be of metal, the insulation necessaryto prevent shor t-oircuiting. As ameans for reventing the cross-illumination referred to t e lamps have been jacketed and various other devices have been resorted to, most of which add to the number of parts in the strip Moreover, the sockets in ordinary use are not capable of employment interchangeably in positions other than those for which they were specificall y designed, and consequently it is necessary to have a complete set of tools and del Specification of Letters Patent Application filed November 25,1904. 8eria1N0. 234,293.

Patented J an. 16, 1906.

situation on the switchboard, such as the op erators table and the like.

It is the object of my invention particularly to reduce all lamp-sockets to be employed on a switchboard to one standard form, which by simple means may be applied wherever required A further object is to provide a socket which in itself will prevent cross-illumination, will obviate all danger of injury from heating by a continued illumination of a lamp or of a l the lamps, which will provide a perfectly stifi' framewithout a back strip, and which will remove all danger of accidental shortcircuit.

-My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a plan viewof a row or strip of lamp-sockets, commonly called la1npjacks. Fig. 1 is a detail. Fig. 2 is a crosssection taken on the axis of one jack as indicated in dotted lines on Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is top plan view of a modified form of supporting means for a pair of jacks-when used for supervisory lamps on the operators table or key-shelf. Fig. 4' is a sectional view of the same on the line y y of Fig. 3, and Figs. 5, 6, and 7 show modifications.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly Figs. 1 and 2, J J are lamp sockets or jacks arranged ten in a row for use in the face of a switchboard as line-signal jacks. This strip of jacks corresponds in design and dimensions to the line-connection jacks employed in the same switchboard. Each jack is tubular in form, being preferably formed up out of sheet metal of sufliclent length to receive the bulb of a lamp L, with its forward end 3' entirely closed, forming a true tube, and its rear end cut away u on one side to form a channels extension, aving two holes j for the reception of screws or rivets for the springs. I preferably form this rear end by means of special tools, so that the sides and edges are straight, and the channel is s uare in cross-section, as indicated in the detai Fig. 1". jack-tube the contactrings, with their se arating-strips of insulation, are laid, the turned-up sides of the channel j preventing their turning or displacement and also keep ing the lamp in alrnement without the nesigns of sockets and parts for every different i cessity for its bulb coming into contact with Within this squared extension of the a;

screws, as shown in Fig. l. ack-strlpsin the switchboard-panels these the closed tubular portion of the jack. This is a matter of some importance, as it permits ventilation around the lamp -bulb. The jacks are combined into a strip by means of a front plate or bar A of metal in which the ends of the tubes j are secured in any suitable manner, as by being screwed in, by means of riveting, and the like. Each end of the bar A is provided with a transverse slide member a, which may be formed integral with the bar A by casting or may be secured thereto by In piling up the end members a, come into position to be secured to the stiles in the same manner as the corresponding parts of the line-jack strips. The principal point to be noted in this connection is that all support is from the front and all connecting parts are of solid metal, thereby insuring stabilityunder all conditions and uniformity in the parts as they come from the factory. W'ithin each jacktube I employ a continuous lining of thin fiber in sheet form--say one thirty-second of an inch thick. This is shown in the figures at 1' and extends forwardly within the in closed portion of the tube to the point the rear portion of the lamp-bulb upon which the contact-springs s are placed being thus surrounded andany accidental contact to form a short circuit through the jack metal prevented. Inserted in the front end of each tube through the corresponding opening in the bar A is a thimble T, shouldered on. the inside with a disk of paper or other material inclosed between and protected by corresponding disks of glass resting on the shoulder and held in place by the spring clampingring t. The transparentmembers are indi cated at t. The thimble, with its window, may be pulled out of the tubes from the front, and the lamps are inserted from the front, the extremity of each lamp-bulb lying within the extension of its thimblc, so to approach quite nearly to the window to in crease the intensity of the illumination. Within the rear squared portion. or channel of each jack are the contact-springs j and 1' each havingtwo holes registering with the holes j in the bottom of the channel and secured in place by the screws j", which are bushed where they pass through the springs and which take into a double washer or clamp of metal j", which is insulated from the upper spring by an interposed rubber washer of the same shape. Each lamp L is provided with a-wooden base Z, to which it is secured by the metal side springs or strips 8, to which the terminals of the filament are connected through suitable leading-in wires. As the lamp is inserted in the ack the base passes between the springs j" 7' and circuit to the filament is then completed, while the lamp is revented from turning by the comparative v broad flat surfaces in contact and by the arrangement particularly whereby the lower spring j rests in the channel and forms a solid support on one side.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I have shown my invention applied to an operators key-shelf for supporting supervisory lamps. Here, 111- stead of the bar A, l employ a metal piece A, formed in figure-8 shape and secured upon the top of the shelf by a central screw This plate is covered by another plate of like shape held in position by a pair of spring-pins passing down into openings (0 in the plate A. This second plate is marked A in Fig. 3 and carries the two jewels or bulls-eyes a, each of which is provided with a spider-guard a. The plate itself is provided with a wire bail u, intermediate of the jewels for the purpose of inserting a suitable tool to remove the plate and jewels when it is desired to have access to the jacks. These jacks are substantially the same in their method of connection to the plate A as the jacks J of Figs. 1 and 2. Each hasits lining of insulating material. Each incloses the bulb of the lamp so far as the illuminated area is concerned, and each has its contactsprings s eeured and operating in the same manner.

In Fig. 7 I have shown a modification of the jack-tube shown in Fig. 4, whereby each. tube may be made independently and secured without reference to the other. The car a rests against the under part of the operators table, to which it is secured by a screw. I have shown the jewel a somewhat larger than in the other figure and carried in an open-ended thimble, with a suitable protecting-cage over it. This same construction of bulls-eye or jewel is intended to be used with the jacks of Fig. 1; but the preferred form for line-lamps is that shown in Figs. 5 and 6. On the face of the front strip an escutcheon-plate II is pivoted on ascrew h. This plate is provided with openings h, each of which in normal position registers with a j ack, each escutcheon-plate thus providing for a pair of jacks. Each late on its back has its upper and lower e ges turned over or channeled out to form a T slot or slide standing toward the center from opposite ends, and into the two ends of this slot the number-cards t are inserted with or with-. out over and underl .ing transparent protecting-slips. Obvious y the plate H can be made to cover the ends of more than twojacks; but the preferred form is as shown in Fig. 6, the turning of the plate on the pivot uncovering the openings of the jacks in the simplest and least troublesome way. I consider this a rather important feature of the invention and shall therefore claim the construction of Figs. 5 and 6 broadly and specifically.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

. extended. to receive and support contactspace to inclose the bulb of an incandescent 1. Alamp-jack fortelepl1oneswitcliboards formed 01 one piece of metal, having its lront end inclosed in tubular form for a sullieient lamp, and having its rear end extended and formed into a straight-sided channel, with contaetssprings and interposed insulation fitted to and rigidly held within said channel, substantially as described.

2. A lamp-jack for telepl1oneswitchboards formed from a' single piece of ruetal comprising a tubular inclosing front portion, and an extended rear portion formed into a straightsided channel, said tube and channel being lined with insulating material, substantially as described.

3. A lamp-jack strip for telephone-switchboards comprising a l'ront bar or support of metal having a series of openings distributed along its length. transverse terminal securing members for said bar, and a series of metal jack-tubes having their front ends secured in the openings in the bar and their rear ends extended 'to receive and support contactsprings, substantiall as described.

4. A lamp-jack strip for telepllone-switchboards comprising a front bar or support of metal having a series of openings distributed along its length, transverse terminal securing members for said bar, and a series of metal jack-tubes having the front ends secured in the'openings in the bar and their rear ends springs, together with insulating-linings for said tubes extending between the jack-eontaets and the sides of the tube, and between, the lam p-contacts and the same when a lamp is inserted, substantially as described.

5. Alamp-strip fortelephone-switchboards comprising a metal front bar or support, I

metal jack-l'rames supported thereon by their l'ront ends, contact-springs supported upon said frames, and a lainp in each jack having its terminals in (.rontact with said springs, the front end of each jack-frame being formed as a tube of suflicient length to inclose the bulb of the lamp arid so prevent cross-illul'nination, substantially as described.

6. In a telephono-switchboard, a tubular larnp-jack and a holding plate orstrip therefor, an insulatingdining tor said jack, and a closure therefor comprising a holder frictionally supported on the jack, and a translucent or transparent body carried by said holder, substantially as described.

7. In a telephone-switchboard, a lampjaek com osed of a metal tube adapted to receive and inelose the bulb of an incandescent lamp, and having one side extended and carrying contact-springs for the lamp, substantially as described.

In a jack-strip forswitchboards, an escutcheon-plate covering the openings 01' one or more jacks and pivoted to be turned so as to expose the same, substantially as described.

J. In a lamp-jack strip for telephoneswitchboards, a front strip having jack-openings therein, anescutclteen-plate pivoted between and with its ends covering two of said openings in normal position, but adapted to be turned to expose the openings, and. translucent windows or number-plates in said escutchoon, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I ai'lix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SIDNEY A. BEYLAND.

Witnesses:

RAY II. Maxsox, LANsbA'LE E. HAMILTON, 

